Functional illiterate Pinoys reach 24.8 M

The number of functionally illiterate Filipinos has nearly doubled to 24.8 million in the past 30 years, the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) reported.

- BELLA CARIASO

In a statement, EDCOM 2 expressed concern over the Department of Education (DepEd)’s involvement in more than 261 interagency bodies, saying this has diverted the agency’s focus from its core mandate of basic education.

The commission recalled that in 1993, EDCOM 1 had urged the government to allow the department to focus solely on basic education to address the 14.5 million functionally illiterate Filipinos at the time.

However, despite the restructuring of education agencies since then, the number of functionally illiterate Filipinos has almost doubled, based on the 2024 Functional Literacy, Education and Mass Media Survey.

During a hearing on DepEd’s charter and mandates, Education Secretary Sonny Angara said the department currently sits in 261 interagency bodies, chairs at least 20 and attends 21 jointly with the Commission on Higher Education and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.

EDCOM 2 noted that while the first EDCOM sought to streamline DepEd's functions - leading to the creation of agencies such as the National Commission for Culture and the Arts and the Philippine Sports Commission - more than 150 new laws and executive issuances since 2001 have added even more responsibilities to the department.

The commission also pointed out that the trifocalization of the former Department of Education, Culture and Sports in 1994, which created DepEd, CHED and TESDA, was meant to allow DepEd to focus on improving students' functional literacy.